If you build it, and they come, will they stay?
How is your website performing? 

By Ron Tanner
October 2005

Today, a website is a fundamental component of the daily business function. Are you ready? Does your website perform?  According to The Pew Internet & American Life Project 2002-05, 68% of American adults (137 million) use the Internet. Of that group, 82 million used it yesterday!  67% of adult women and 69% of adult men use the Internet for these activities: (in order)

1.    Email                                 91%

2.    General search                    84

3.    Maps/Directions                   84

4.    Specific search question       80

5.    Research product or service  78

6.    Check weather                   78

7.    Hobby or interest                77

8.    Get travel info                    73

9.    Get news                           72

10.           Buy a product                67

Everyday, millions of US Internet users look for business, product, or service information.  Some of them may be trying to find you, email you, learn more about what you do, or buy from you! 

IS YOUR BUSINESS READY FOR ANY OF THAT?

It might make you feel better to learn that most small and mid-cap businesses are not prepared for their web visitors.  As a result, the prospective customer’s experience is not a favorable one.  (They won’t be back, and they won’t be telling anyone else to visit either.)  These same businesses have made and continue to make costly mistakes with their website purchases and maintenance.  That includes me! 

Common mistakes include: choosing a bad web address/URL; not having any way to interact with the visitor; never changing the content; bad design and navigation; bad organization or site plan; no integration or marketing plan; expandability; and the list goes on!

Here are few tips for the small business owner to help avoid costly mistakes and lengthy delays in getting the site traffic-ready:

• Know your website’s objective.  E-commerce, informational, portal, etc., all the above.
• Know the functionality needed to accomplish the objectives.  Shopping cart, database, email marketing, content management, catalog, photo galleries, etc.
• Know how your website should perform as a function of your company.  Your website is another business location.  It's a place for customers to have an experience with you.  Make sure it's a good one for both!
• Learn how a website will expand your markets to new customers.  You are now serving anyone who needs or wants you 24/7/365.  Will you ever sleep again?
• Know how you will be supported!  Websites consist of many components- technical, email accounts, content maintenance, hosting, copy writing, graphics, marketing, purchasing a URL, training for your Webmaster and/or staff, etc. 
• From DAY 1 - get your website indexed and optimized for search engine recognition.  Why?  If you want your customers to find you when they are intentionally searching for your site on the web, you must get this done. 
• Do it right the first time!  Pay for experience up front.  Buying wrong will make you unhappy with the performance.  If you cannot perform daily upgrades and don’t have interactive marketing functions, you are not ready to offer a great customer experience! Experienced designers will save you a great deal of money, anxiety, and time.
• Content and navigation related issues to keep in mind:
  ~Keep it simple and up to date! 
  ~Make it easy to get around.
  ~Organize the content logically.
  ~Make it interactive with polls, surveys, activities, links for information
  ~Link with co-marketing partners.
  ~Feature new products and services.